Recent studies in man and in rat show that the administration of Cyclosporine (CsA) after autologous or syngeneic BMT induces an autoimmune syndrome resembling graft-vs-host disease (GVHD)..sup.1-5 This syndrome is termed syngeneic or autologous GVHD. Results from animal studies suggest that syngeneic GVHD has significant antitumor activity..sup.11,12 Moreover, the antitumor effect of this autoaggression syndrome can be enhanced by the administration of cytokines that upregulate the expression of the MHC Class II target antigen on the tumor cell..sup.6,7 Clinical trials are currently underway to evaluate the antitumor immunotherapeutic potential of autologous GVHD in man..sup.8-12
Thee is a need in the art for additional tools and methods to modulate the anti-tumor immune response found in syngeneic GVHD.